Embryonic progenitor cells

(hESCs, or ESC) – All stem cells have two basic traits: 1) the ability to make an identical copy of themselves; 2) the ability to change or “differentiate” into different types of mature cells that make up a human body. Human ESC are a unique type of cell that is “pluripotent” meaning that they can become all of the cell types found in the human body and they have unlimited ability to make identical copies of themselves, also know of as “unlimited proliferation potential”. Human ESC exist naturally for a short time in a human embryo, but they can be isolated (under strictly controlled donation processes) and cultured in the laboratory to almost infinite numbers while retaining their remarkable ability to become any cell type. The goal of using ESC in regenerative medicine is to create cells to cure chronic degenerative diseases and injuries that cannot be cured using current technologies.Back